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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29028492">The Portrait Hall</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiftyWing/pseuds/ShiftyWing'>ShiftyWing</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ghost Arctic AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wings of Fire - Tui T. Sutherland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, i guess??, prequel to my previous one-shot?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:53:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>836</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29028492</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiftyWing/pseuds/ShiftyWing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Prince Arctic I" read the plague attached to the frame. "The Last IceWing Animus, 270-306 A.S."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Ghost Arctic AU [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129586</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Portrait Hall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>In order to keep his mind off more pressing matters, Winter often explored the Ice palace. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was doing exactly that at this moment, because by all the moons, he needed a good distraction right then.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually he ended up in the portrait hall. Pretty much every royal IceWing had a painting of themselves in this hall, including Winter.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Probably not for much longer, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought grudgingly, noting that Snowfall was probably going to throw it out once the tribe officially disowned him or whatever. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It's not fair, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Winter thought to himself as he walked down the hall glancing at the walls. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I risked my </span>
  </em>
  <span>life </span>
  <em>
    <span>to help my tribe. I got magically sent away back here, because my friends forgot about me. Or maybe they just don't want me around. And now I'm stuck here, back with these people that hate me. Did I even make the right decision to fight with them?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He touched his bandage on his cheek, covering up the wound that was caused by a NightWing soldier when she slashed at his face with a spear. It was probably going to leave a livelong scar. Great.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It didn't matter what decision I made. My friends don't care about me. I've been here for days, they haven't even bothered to contact me. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Winter had heard talk that Darkstalker had disappeared shortly after the IceWing army was teleported back home. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No doubt my Winglet had something to do with it. And they obviously didn't need me to help. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait, Winter was trying to </span>
  <em>
    <span>distract </span>
  </em>
  <span>himself from these pressing thoughts. Arggg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He decided to actually focus on the portraits around him, and stopped in front of a particular portrait that had always caught his eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Prince Arctic I" read the plague attached to the frame. "The Last IceWing Animus, 270-306 A.S."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter remembered when he was younger, he and his friend Lynx would often make fun of and rate the portraits in the hall, it was a fun past time, though Winter was always a bit nervous that someone was going to catch them "insulting their elders" or whatever. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You look like him," Lynx would always say, pointing to Arctic's portrait.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter never saw it. Among the detailed clothes and heavy jewelry he wore, the infamous prince's eyes were much lighter then his (though the light blue part of Winter's left eye was roughly the same color), and his hair a darker wavier blond (even though Winter had always kept his own hair dyed and straightened), with a sharper face and longer nose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But looking back on it...perhaps Lynx didn't mean they were similar in terms of facial features. Arctic's eyes looked distant, his lips open in a slight pout. He didn't look thrilled to have his portrait painted, but then again, who would, back then when you couldn't just snap a picture and have someone else worry about the painting? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter glanced over at the portrait to his right, of Queen Diamond, Arctic's mother, and then to the left, which was his cousin Snowfox. They looked regal, proud, like they were doing everything right and doing amazing things for the IceWings. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arctic didn't have the same glint in his eyes. If anything he looked unsure. Maybe that's what Lynx had meant by their similarities, that neither of them really knew how to fit in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Winter on how to satisfy his family, Arctic on how to deal with the standing he already had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He remembered how the concept of Foeslayer kidnapping Arctic made so much sense to him when he was younger. Why else would he have left, with all the respect Arctic had? But hearing Foeslayer say they loved each other, well...</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe other people in the family have been insecure and unhappy as well. Maybe they secretly wish to be rebellious as well. It's just that Arctic was the only one with enough guts to do so. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Another thing Winter noticed was that Arctic looked a lot younger than the portraits around him. He quickly checked the date when his was painted on the plaque. 186 A.S. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He was 16. The same age as me. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And that made Winter </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>uncomfortable. The portraits were swapped out every seven-ish years, Arctic must had to have already left with Foeslayer before another one could be painted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And now, Winter was going to be stuck with a portrait from when he was nine in the hall, if they didn't throw it out first. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Isn't that a shame?  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Winter sighed and turned away from the painting, making his way back to his room. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I wonder what he would've thought of me. I did the same thing he did, right? Left my kingdom for love? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Truth to be told, Winter couldn't imagine leaving for Moon anymore, considering she was definitely choosing Qibli.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again, considering Arctic's tale ended with him stabbing himself and dying at age 36 at the hands of his own son, maybe that kind of tale was best to avoid anyhow.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
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